Well testing, with regard to previously completed hydrocarbon wells, is a system where a mobile unit containing various metering units, separators, and heaters temporarily diverts the hydrocarbon flow from the hydrocarbon well through the equipment of the mobile unit before flowing into the production line. Based on the temporary diversion, various parameters associated with hydrocarbon flow may be determined, such as oil flow rate, gas flow rate, water cut, wellhead pressure, and the like. Once tested, the hydrocarbon well is once again tied to a production line. Well testing may be performed over the course of a single day in some situations.
In many cases, the various parameters measured on the single day become the assumed flow rates for the hydrocarbon well over a relatively long period of time, such as three months or a year. That is, the legal entity responsible for the wells in the field may measure total field hydrocarbon flow at a distant location, and then attribute a portion of the total hydrocarbon flow from the field to each well based on the well testing parameters. If changes in hydrocarbon flow take place for a particular well, such changes may not be known, or attribution properly made, until the next well test reveals the change. Historically, the hydrocarbon wells are tested on a rotating basis, roughly in sequential order based on the time since the last well test.